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Alice Springs

The latest news from Alice Springs

Activities NewsParrtjima – A Festival in Light – to light up Alice Springs in 2018
Alice Springs will light up again in 2018 when Parrtjima – A Festival in Light returns to celebrate Central Australian Aboriginal art and culture. The spectacular free outdoor festival, which comprises performance, light and sound installations with the majestic MacDonnell Ranges as its backdrop, will be staged from 28 September to 7 October 2018. In 2017, the festival involved five Aboriginal art centres and showcased the work of 20 Aboriginal artists.

Accommodation NewsLasseters rebrands as Crowne Plaza Alice Springs Lasseters
Lasseters Hotel in Alice Springs has been re-branded by the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) as Crowne Plaza Alice Springs Lasseters. The A$5 million refurbishment of the property is due for completion by 15 March 2018, with all 205 hotel guest rooms to be renovated and refreshed. The hotel, which nestles beneath the spectacular MacDonnell Ranges, is located adjacent to the 1200 seat Alice Springs Convention Centre and Lasseters Casino and also overlooks the 18-hole Alice Springs Golf Course, Australia’s only championship desert golf course.

Alice Springs Resort joins Accor
The former Chifley Alice Springs Resort has re-branded as the Mercure Alice Springs Resort and has officially joined the AccorHotels network. With the re-branding, the 139-room resort has undergone an A$2 million upgrade of its rooms and facilities and has also launched a new al fresco area known as Ilthe Akethe-Le. The outdoor multi-purpose venue will be available for conferences, events and performances and in 2018, Indigenous workshops and cultural sessions will be staged in this space.

Darwin and the Top End

The latest news for Darwin and the Top End

Accommodation NewsWestin Darwin to open in 2020
Marriott International will open a new Westin property in Darwin in 2020. The eight-story luxury hotel will offer easy access to the nearby Darwin Convention Centre & Waterfront Precinct, with extensive water and city views. The property will comprise 240 guest rooms including 14 spacious suites, three dining venues and a bar. More than 1,100 square metres of meeting and event space will be available, as well as an Executive Lounge. Leisure facilities will include a fitness studio, resort-style swimming pool and a spa.

DoubleTree by Hilton undergoes refurb of Darwin property
The DoubleTree by Hilton Esplanade hotel in Darwin is undergoing a million-dollar refurbishment in 2018. All 197 guest rooms plus conference and event facilities are to be included, with the hotel ready to re-welcome guests in early April. The new décor will reflect the tones of the Northern Territory and accommodation rooms will feature king-sized beds and internet protocol television systems. All seven conference and events spaces including the Grand Ballroom are being refurbished, with new lighting and audio-visual equipment adding to the property’s enhanced appeal to the business events sector.

Darwin's newest CBD hotel opens
Darwin’s newest locally-built, family-owned boutique hotel opened in the heart of Darwin’s CBD earlier this month. Combining modern architecture with Darwin’s laid-back lifestyle, Darwin City Hotel offers a suite of 83 standard, deluxe and superior-style rooms, and is perfectly positioned for guests who want to take full advantage of Darwin’s thriving al-fresco dining scene.

Airport NewsDarwin International Airport wins awards for solar innovation and new venue
The Airports Council International recently awarded Darwin International Airport with the Asia-Pacific Green Airports Platinum Award for its $13 million solar farm project. Comprising 15,000 solar panels spread over six hectares within the airport grounds, the panels can produce the electricity equivalent of 1000 households. They meet the airport’s peak energy demands in the middle of the day, contributing to 25 per cent of its overall energy needs. When completed, the solar array will be the largest airport airside PhotoVoltaic (PV) system in the world.

Darwin International Airport is the first airport in Australia to establish and operate its own business centre, which recently opened on the mezzanine floor of the international arrivals area. Covering more than 1000 square metres, the A$3 million Wirraway Business Centre features 75-seat & 25-seat conference rooms with video conferencing capability. The new centre has already been awarded an Airport Innovation and Excellence Award by the Australian Airport Association in the category of Non-Aeronautical Development. The Wirraway Business Centre is named after the Australian-built training plane, which was converted to a light bomber during the Second World War.

International aviation access to the NT set to grow
The NT expects to see significant international business event growth in 2018 with the recent announcement that Donghai Airlines from Shenzhen in China will commence direct non-stop flights between Shenzhen and Darwin at the end of May 2018. Donghai Airlines is a full-service carrier and its home base of Shenzhen is one of the largest cities in China, providing access to a population estimated at over 14 million people. The region is known as China’s ‘Silicon Valley’ and is where many high-tech manufacturing companies are based.
These will be the first-ever direct flights from China into Darwin. It is anticipated they will enable increased Chinese delegate and incentive participation at business events held in the Northern Territory, which offers one of Australia’s most iconic destination experiences.
The flights are expected to operate twice per week, increasing to three times weekly during peak periods and as demand grows. The flights to and from Shenzhen Baoan International Airport, one of the largest airport hubs in Southern China, are timed to connect with other Donghai Airlines services operating in China. The new air link between Darwin and China will deliver over 35,000 airline seats directly into the market.

Activities NewsThe Precinct Tavern extends
The Precinct Tavern, located at the extensive Darwin Waterfront Precinct, has developed a new state-of-the-art alfresco permanent deck on the lawns overlooking the Waterfront Wave Pool. The A$750,000 alfresco covered deck, which opened early in 2018, provides a new space for informal welcome, closing or casual dining functions for conferences being staged at the nearby Darwin Convention Centre. The combined tavern and deck space can now offer capacity for cocktail-style events for up to 700 guests.

Darwin’s Waterfront Precinct comprises landscaped gardens and parklands, hotels, cafes, bars and restaurants, as well as a wave pool and saltwater lagoon with man-made beach. It is just a short walk from the Darwin Convention Centre and only five minutes from the Darwin CBD.

Luxury flying boats wing their way to Darwin
Iconic Territory brand, Paspaley, is spreading its tourism wings even further with the recent launch of exciting Paspaley Flying Boat tours in and around Darwin Harbour.
The luxury tours offer a unique and memorable way to reward incentive high achievers and with just 16 Grumman Mallard flying boats in operation across the globe, they deliver a high-end exclusive experience.

New NT support fund strengthens destination appeal:
A new Northern Territory Business Events Support Fund has been launched for 2018. Administered by the NT Convention Bureau, it offers financial assistance to qualified business events which are at the consideration or bidding stage and will deliver A$100 per delegate up to a maximum of A$50,000 per event. Funding will focus on events which align with NT priority industry strengths, which include the health, agribusiness, land management, mining, renewable energy, education and defence sectors. There is also a requirement for the majority of event attendees to travel to the NT from interstate and beyond.

Turbocharging Tourism in the NT
Earlier this month, the Northern Territory Government proactively released a $103 million tourism stimulus package aimed at attracting more visitors, creating more local jobs and putting more money into the pockets of Territorians.

Tourism is a cornerstone of the NT economy, supporting thousands of small and medium size businesses and 17,000 direct and indirect jobs across a range of sectors including tourism, hospitality, retail, arts and culture and transport. Starting immediately and rolling out over the next two financial years, the Tourism Stimulus Package will deliver an additional:

$56.24 million for new tourism infrastructure and related tourism programs creating more memorable visitor experiences, particularly in our parks and reserves.

$20.78 million to further enhance existing festivals, events and other tourism experiences to cement the Territory’s reputation as a vibrant and exciting place to live, work and visit.

The $26.57 million stimulus injection to marketing is anticipated to generate a $345 million return on investment directly into the Northern Territory’s economy and support thousands of jobs. Major products include a new $9.9 million multi-purpose visitor centre at the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens; $12 million in funding to reinforce the Red Centre as a global mountain biking destination; $3 million to the NT Government’s Visitor Experience Enhancement Program (VEEP); $21 million to enhance NT events; a rejuvenation of Darwin’s CBD, and a major $1.9 million boost for military heritage.

Uluru

The latest news from Uluru

Activities NewsCamel Farm lights up
Uluru Camel Tours operates the largest camel farm in Australia with over 60 working camels available for escorted camel rides. The Farm also offers a multi-purpose entertainment venue, ideal for team building activities as well as al fresco dining. The extensive paved terrace provides room for a stage, dance-floor, bar and barbecue facilities and now also boasts new lighting and audio visual facilities. The venue can cater for small gatherings through to large events involving hundreds of guests.

Features include an outback bar known as “Old Toms Waterhole”, a saddlery and blacksmith’s workshop and also the ‘Staging Post” area which houses a fully-restored Cobb and Co stagecoach, wagon and buggy, as well as a display of historic images and artefacts. The Camel Farm also has a permanent racetrack which is the location of the annual Uluru Camel Cup and can also be utilised for bespoke camel races for conference and incentive groups.

Voyages Ayers Rock Resort – Field of Light to continue
At Uluru, Voyages Ayers Rock Resort, the spectacular ‘Field of Light’ continues to provide added incentive for planners to bring a business event to the Red Centre. With the recent announcement that the world-renowned lighting installation will be extended till 31 December 2020, it is expected that the destination will attract ongoing attention from domestic and international planners wishing to integrate this global phenomenon into their conference and incentive programmes.

Accommodation NewsThe Lost Camel Finds Its Way Back To Ayers Rock Resort
The boutique-style Lost Camel Hotel will re-open its doors at Ayers Rock Resort on 1 July 2018.

The compact studio-style rooms are decorated in bright colours and crisp, clean whites. Each room features a sumptuous King Bed (can be separated into two single beds) and a bathroom with a separate shower and toilet and an open-plan vanity.

Guests can soak up the sun by the hotel’s central swimming pool, browse the shops or enjoy a casual meal at one of the cafés located in the Resort Town Square just minutes’ walk away. Guests also have access to free in-room Wi-Fi and are able to take part in the many free daily guest activities on offer.